Monday, August 11, 2014

This weekend's sermon, but maybe not exactly what you heard.

Here you will find the initial manuscript for the sermon I preached this weekend. But here's the thing...it was preached three different ways this weekend. Depending on which service you attended, you may have heard something just a little different than what is written here.

The other piece to this is that on Saturday evening I presided at a memorial service for a 37 year old who overdosed on heroin. There will probably be reflections on that in a later post, but the text from Matthew is the one I used at that service as well. So I had the opportunity to share the message of God's love and grace in 4 very different settings all stemming from Jesus walking on water and grabbing Peter. The text is still alive and well with me this morning.

Here's hoping that as you read - or as you heard it this weekend - that a message of love, grace and hope grabs you.

August 10,
2014

9th
Sunday after Pentecost

1 Kings
19:9-18

Psalm 85

Romans
10:5-15

Matthew
14:22-33

Please pray
with me,

May the
words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable in
your sight, O God, our rock, our strength and our redeemer.Amen.

Having just
left the beach with the water and waves….this text is a good one.

It’s also a
fun one to sing.As soon as I read
through this text in preparation for preaching this weekend, I kept getting
Jesus is walking on a lake, lake, lake….stuck in my head.

It’s a
passage you may have heard before.But
here’s hoping we can hear it in a new light this day.

Because
here’s the way I bet we’ve heard it in the past….and it’s not wrong, but it may
leave us wanting something…You see, oftentimes we have focused on Peter, he
seems to take the lead in this story.

In the midst
of the boat that is being battered by waves…they see Jesus on the water…they
think it’s a ghost, but he assures them of who he is.It is I, he says.

And Peter
walks….well, until he looks around and feels the storm…and then he’s unsure and
begins to sink.He calls to Jesus and
Jesus reaches out and catches him.

Jesus
comments about the ‘little faith’…or doubt that Peter had, but he still caught
him….and then they got into the boat.

It seems
that the first response…or lesson to be learned from this passage is to keep
our eyes on Jesus….to not doubt.Because
in those early moments, Peter seems to do just that and in those moments, he
steps out onto the sea.

Yet as soon
as he looks away, he loses it.

Too easy for
us to connect with this right?

Sure, we are
to focus on Christ, keep our eyes on Christ, stay focused and all will be
well.

Like in the
ending of Star Wars when they are trying to take out the Death Star, they have
a task to accomplish, even though ships surround them firing at them….you hear
the leader:Stay on target.

Stay on
target.

But come
on…. We just can’t always stay on target.

And we don’t
want to or need to focus on our imperfections here.

We all have
‘em.And we want to have the best faith
we can and feel rock solid in our faith, like we could just hop out of the boat
and walk right to Jesus.

But we’re
not there.

Some days we
may feel like we are…heck even some weeks or months.

But then
something hits.

The loss of
a loved one.

A work
transition.

New
neighbors.

Challenging
co-workers.

Troubles at
recess.

A change in
how your family looks.

Teammates
who are your friend one day and don’t talk to you the next.

The list
could go on and on….something…somewhere in your life changes and you lose
focus.

And when
that happens – BAM – Jesus catches you.

Just like
that.

Just like
Jesus caught Peter.He didn’t need to be
told to look to Jesus or believe….in that hold, in the moment it just
happened.

Think of the
sense of peace and comfort that must have surrounded Peter in that moment.

You probably
have an experience that may be similar to that.

Like when
you were learning to swim and just needed an extra hand as you struggled.And BAM – that hand was there and you felt
safe.

Just like
that, each and every time we face a struggle, trial, tribulation, uncertainty….
BAM! -

Jesus
catches us.

And when he
does, we don’t have to be told to look to Jesus anymore….as Jesus holds us it’s
impossible not to believe that he’s got us.It makes it possible to believe even if we are in the sea of disbelief.

Because
that’s it, right?How can you not
believe that Jesus is with you throughout everything…when he’s holding you in
the midst of the worst possible points?

“Yes, Peter should have kept his eyes on Jesus...and so
should we. But when we don't, when we falter, or even fail, Jesus will be there
to grab us, to catch us, to support us and set us up straight again, ready to
give it another go.”

So I want
you to think for a moment…about a place where you have felt
vulnerable…lost….alone…you won’t need to share it….but just think about a time
or place when you needed God’s presence in your midst.The Greek basanizo - the word in our text for battered)
literally means torture, torment or harassment; figuratively it means severe
distress.

Because
that’s the place where Jesus grabs us.

That’s the
place where you are loved, held, embraced.

That’s the
place, when you feel most vulnerable Jesus is with you.

No question.

That’s the
place when you feel most alone, that Jesus is with you.

No
question.

You need not
have the perfect faith.Jesus is there
no matter what.

Dr. Timothy Wengert,
a former faculty member of the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia
may not have said this word for word, but I attribute the idea to him.As he was talking about the community of
faith, he may have shared a story about how he lost his first wife to
cancer.It was someone in his faith
community who said to him, that’s okay if you don’t believe….we’ll believe for
you.

In the midst
of horrible grief, his belief in God was held by those around him as he moved
through grief.

In a similar
way, one week as we gathered for worship in the campus chapel, our seminary
musician had lost his grandmother.As he
wept as he played the hymns that day, it was the voice of community song that
held him that day.When he didn’t have
the voice to sing, we sang for him.

Each of
these moments, different, yet similar, echo the situation of Peter this
day.

In the midst
of stormy waters, and unsteady footing….Christ is all he needs.

In the midst
of our own storms, when we feel battered and tossed about.

Christ is
all we need.

Will we have
the perfect faith? No.

Will we get
everything just right? No.

Will we
doubt?Most likely more often than we’d
like to admit.

But in the
midst of all of that…Christ is with us.

Christ is in
our midst, as we greet one another with a word, a hand shake or a hug of
peace.

Christ is in
our midst as we lift others up when they cannot hold themselves up.

As Christ is
ever present in this gathering…may we be strengthened and uplifted, fed and
nourished, may we be Christ to one another in our midst, healing, loving, caring
and supporting.

And may the
experience we have here….the fellowship, the word of God, the passing of
Christ’s peace, this meal of bread and wine….may all of it continue to carry us
back out of this place…into the world…to tell friends and family, neighbors,
loved ones and strangers about how we are changed.How we are able to live in a busy, crazy
world, because we know Christ is with us….in the midst of the stormiest days…to
the days when we feel clarity and peace….and every single day in between.

May others
come to know the presence of Christ….the feeling of being grabbed and held,
just in the nick of time….just because they are loved by God.

And now may
the peace, which passes all understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ
Jesus and let all God’s people say, amen.